Saturday, July 11, 2009

The following is a statement and early analysis by Linda Godfrey, researcher and author of 'Weird Michigan': Over the 15+ years I've been investigating unknown upright canids, I've seen too many obviously faked photos and unverifiable blob-dogs to count. There is a new film on the block, however, that is the best and most frightening I've seen so far. It is still in the investigative stages and could still be proven a hoax, but if so it's an extremely sophisticated and well done hoax. It was shown to Steve Cook, Michigan deejay who has popularized Michigan's upright canid known as the Michigan Dogman, several months ago. He obtained the rights to the film which was taken with an old 8 mm camera and was allegedly found in an estate sale in the lower Peninsula. Steve has been busy consulting with film and imaging experts, but has posted it now on his Web site. I was fortunate enough to have had a sneak preview at the stills of the film, and while I thought the stills would probably disprove it, I found them more convincing and scary than the film itself.

The film is grainy, blurry, shows a lot of nondescript landscape and begins with some ordinary shots of a lady chopping a log. It appears that the filmmaker saw the creature while riding in a truck, jumped out of the truck to shoot it, then was surprised by a side ambush and ended up with a view of the creature's fangs and gaping maw -- perhaps after the camera was tossed to the ground in haste as the filmer hustled back into the truck. (I think the mouth shots are the least convincing part of the film.) But the first stills that show the creature clearly indicate a canine-headed animal moving through knee-high undergrowth. It has pointed ears on top of its head and shoulders, which ordinary dogs (or bears or other quadrupeds) do not have. It turns and moves to one side, charging through the brush in a way that would be very difficult for a human to do. At one point it appears there is a long tail. There is sure to be a lot of argument on this, and I commend Steve for taking the trouble to acquire it, bring it forward, and to warn everyone that it is still under investigation. It's always better to err on the side of caution with these things, and it may turn out to be some known creature or even a different unknown creature than the Dogman. (It reminds me of the smaller animal known as the Devil Monkey as well)._______________________

This was a reader submitted email from April 2009:

My girlfriend and I went out to feed deer for the hunting opener on Nov. 22, 2008. We were in the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin. It was November 21, 2008 and the time was 12:10 AM, it was totally dark out and light snow was falling with an accumulation of about 1 inch covering the roads. The Temperature was 11*F and the wind was blowing from the northwest with a wind chill of 0*F. We made a U-turn to the left onto an unfinished ATV trail in one of our 4X4 Pickups heading towards last years feed pile.

I got to the bottom of the hill and backed in and parked. I got out my pistol and loaded it, I then put it in my holster, I grabbed my headlight with 3 LED bulbs and secured it on my head, I handed her a shaker LED flashlight and proceeded to the back of my truck where I had a 5 gallon bucket with just under 2 gallons of corn and 3 apples in it strapped down with 2 of my ATV straps. I put the tailgate down, unstrapped the bucket and put the tailgate up. I walked around my side and then in front of the truck to her passenger side as she was putting mittens on. We both started to walk together, her just behind and to my right side when we both noticed a fresh set of tracks in the snow heading down wind of us in the same direction we where walking.

At first it was not the size that caught my attention, it was "WHAT IN GOD'S CREATION MADE THESE TRACKS" immediately my skinned crawled as I looked around with my head to see if what we just had come up on was in sight. I glanced back down in disbelief at the tracks. I was in a slight stage of shock as I looked at her she looked at me and we both looked down at 4 well-formed footprints of some kind of scary tracks that either of us had ever seen before. I sized my shoe beside one of the tracks and realized it was about 3 inches longer than my shoe which measures 12 inches heel to toe, and about 1 inch wider than my shoe which measures 4 inches at it's widest width. Whatever we witnessed the foot prints of has 2 pointed talons on the end of it's foot that are isometrically the same with a rectangle shaped heel. The talons joined on the outside and at the same length in between the talons on each foot. They are 15 inches long and 5 inches wide with 64-inch strides. I have a 36-inch stride at 5'10" tall to give an idea of the possible size of this creature, running or not we do not know.

I believe we just missed seeing what caused these tracks and what ever made the tracks was still in the area and possibly watching us. My girl told me to load my pistol and keep it out, I did not argue. At first she wanted to leave right away but the sheer adrenaline and interest of what caused the tracks I believe is what kept us there. I said "okay let's get out of here" but again, interest kept us there looking at the tracks. My fear slightly subsided enough to think about the upcoming deer opener and decided I have the pistol and we will be okay. I started to walk the same way the tracks went up a hill on the trail when I stopped and looked back at her while she was still staring down at the prints. I said "come on lets get this over with" she caught up to me as we walked together, she said to me, "if this thing gets a hold of me put a bullet in my head" I thought about that as we kept walking. We went deep into the woods down a steep hill where I new the feed pile was from last year. We got to where I wanted the pile to be, I took the lid off the bucket and dumped the corn and apples out and stepped on the apples, I snapped the lid back on the bucket and said "let's go" We started to climb the hill when I realized we where off track and had to walk left to reach the trail to get back to the truck. I started to think that this was the scariest thing I have ever encountered and felt panic over coming me. I new where I was and finally we got back on the trail and walked down to where we could see the tracks of the creature again. We both stared at them for about 5 minutes. When we got back to the truck just 20 yards from the prints, she got in and closed her door. I went behind the truck, opened the tailgate and re strapped the bucket down and closed the tailgate. I got to my side of the truck and took the clip out of my gun and got in. I threw my head light off my head as we drove away thinking and then I said, "I am not coming back here" and she agreed. We where both scared and could not believe what just happened.

It was a month earlier and 1.1 miles walking through the woods from where we witnessed the tracks that a different friend and I where camping. I went to bed early and fell into a deep sleep. I woke up to the sound of my friend walking behind the tent and my first reply was "what are you doing back there?" I woke up a little more and realized my friend was sleeping, breathing kind of loud next to me. I sat up against my gear and grabbed my pistol and flashlight and sat there cold and scared in the dark. I woke my friend up and told him what I could hear and he said, "Ah it was probably a deer or something" The temperature was around 26*F. I looked out the flaps of the tent and could see the fire had died down and it was dark out there. I stood up and told my friend that I was going to the truck to warm up and get some sleep. I asked him if he wanted me to leave the pistol and he said, "no I'll be alright". I left the tent and walked to my truck about 80 yards away and started it up to get warm. I turned my lights on a few different times to see if what had walked by the tent was in sight. I did not see anything; I turned my truck off and fell asleep.

Whatever walked by the tent was bipedal and made 2 steps into my sound range and out again. I did not hear any other noise from what ever walked by. I looked around the next morning for footprints but leaves covered the ground and I did not detect anything. A little more than 2 years earlier. It was summer and I was at this same location riding my ATV alone, I stopped and got off walking down to a near by lake and was looking at the water and how clear it is when I could hear up on the hill above the camp ground we had stayed at a huge tree snap and hit the ground with a big thump as branches snapped off it and other trees as it fell. I got back to my ATV quickly at the time thinking a bear or buck was up there and I was not sticking around to find out. 2 months later that summer I returned to this spot again riding my ATV, I shut off the wheeler and stood around close by thinking about the last time I was there I was scared off by something. I was there about 5 minutes when all of a sudden I could hear branches snapping off of trees as what ever was breaking branches was coming down the hill closer to where I was. I got on my wheeler never to return until my friend and I camped there a little over 2 years later in October. My first 2 experiences with this creature while I was alone made me think it was possibly a bear or a buck deer, trouble with this theory is that I have come up on bear a dozen or so times and every time, the bear is running as fast as it can in another direction and what ever was making the tree sounds was not running any where. A deer also runs away at the first presence of a human. Now that we witnessed these creatures’ footprints I put the puzzle pieces together and realize that this creature is living in this area and it has probably been there for a long, long, long time. I have learned it means us no harm (yet). It only makes a sound when I am alone (tree breaking). It is always down wind of me (us). It is out in the day and or night. It can see in the dark. It uses the wind to it's advantage every chance it gets. It can hear well. It can smell good. It waits until we are vulnerable to approach us when 2 of us are together. I could possibly have smelled it and did not know what I smelled. I (we) have put 4,000 miles in this forest on my Grizzly ATV through deep desolate, thick wooded, swamp, lake areas and have now proved to ourselves that this undocumented at this time creature is in fact out there.

I believe this to be what the Monster quest American Werewolf series TV show on the History Channel has shown to be the half Man-half Wolf "DOGMAN?" that others have actually witnessed. I know where this creature is living and plan on an expedition to prove its existence. I want to document this creature because I feel everyone that enters the forest has a right to know it is there and for other various reasons. I am open to any and all that would like to comment or ask questions in discussing my encounters with this creature(s).

NOTE: this cryptid tale has fascinated me for years. The sightings of this creature have been reported in Michigan and Wisconsin for hundreds of years...known to the Ottawa Indians as Wendigo and to French trappers as Loup Garou. Early European settlers thought they were encountering a Werewolf, reminiscent of legends from the old world. Have you had a similar experience?...Lon

The trail-cam pics look like a bear.The Quebec pic has been around for a while and looks genuine.The boy reflected in the wing mirror somehow looks straight out of the fifties and his camera looks old.How did the retrieve the camera?Check out guardiantales.com and the story of The Beast of LBL for a very worrying account of thses creatures.

Agreed. An excellent point. Where the camera cuts out it appears to be a video or electronic sort of thing. This leads me to believe it maybe a hoax but who would make such a blunder after such excellent work? Its not a bear or gorilla. Examine the footage closely, it clearly has pointed ears.

Until I saw this video and read the article, I always thought that I had seen a Sasquatch. what I saw now, seems to resemble a Werewolf, more then a sasquatch!!! My memory of the incident is still fresh in my mind, having been seared into my brain. I will never forget what I saw. Not in a million years and that was 18 years ago now. I know that I didn't sleep well for a week after. What I saw had pointed ears, like a dog, with a muzzle like a dog and big canines. It stood on 2 legs and was at least 6 feet tall and was drooling. It scared the crap outta me. I was 14 years old then on a Scouts trip at the time. I will never forget this. As I close my eyes and picture that exact moment in time, with my heart shooting adrenalin thorugh my body! Scary man, absolutely sscary as hell.

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